Thoughts on a mid-air marriage

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I am questioning what kind of message the Pope is sending to the faithful, and the unfaithful for that matter. It seems like what he did is a dreadful attention seeking publicity stunt. Why would he do this?
 
It appears that he did it so that the couple would be in a valid marriage. That’s obviously a good thing for the man and woman involved. In a sense, this is then good for the whole Church. Whether or not the Pope’s way of bringing about this good thing will be good for the Church at large remains to be seen. In other words, will this “publicity stunt” bring about more valid marriages and reduce the number of irregular unions? We will see.

Dan
 
Some things need to be considered here.

If it was a spontaneous impromptu rite:
  1. How did the pope complete the prenuptial investigation?
  2. How did he know they were free to marry?
    a. Verification of Baptism?
    b. Impediments to marriage?
    c. Disparity of Cult?
  3. Does the pope carry the “rite of marriage” around with him and did he use it?
  4. If he didn’t use the ritual book how can he be sure of ritual form? (or prevent a lack of form?)
  5. How did he ensure that pre-nuptial marriage prep was completed?
If the above questions cannot be answered, how can the Holy Father reconcile his actions on the airplane with his plea to the pastors of the church to do a better job of Marriage prep?

If it was a planned event;
  1. what is the purpose other than publicity?
If the above question can be answered we must assume that the pope fulfilled all of the Church requirements before performing the rite and we must either assume that he used a ritual book or has the entire marriage rite memorized word for word.

My pastor has already heard from the mother of a bride in our parish family who said our parish policy of not allowing beach resort weddings or outside botanical garden weddings is against Church teaching as
evidencedby Pope Francis’ airplane wedding.
 
I have no doubt that clergy will now be inundated with requests for weddings in all sorts of places (beaches, gardens, etc.)…with the family noting the pope would approve.
 
Well to be fair, the Pope (may God preserve him) isn’t just a ‘secular’ kind of ruler, like a president, or a prime minister, or a king, who can perform pretty much any kind of action that his or her secular ‘role’ allows. He is the Vicar of God and has the awesome responsibility of leading a billion Catholics.

Now most of us Catholics posting here are fairly well-educated in the Faith. We have knowledge of Church history, we’re able to examine both sides of a story, we make up our minds based less on what appeals to us in theory but rather with a fairly firm purpose to be obedient to God and to look for what HE is teaching.

So most of us aren’t playing, “The Pope didn’t do something he should, GOTCHA” or 'The Pope did something he should not, GOTCHA", but rather, "I’m confused because I am seeing or hearing that the Pope did X, but not that he did all the things necessary for X, and instead of having my fellow Catholics saying, "yes, of course we trust the Pope but in situations where lots of people are involved and the situation itself is complex, and we’re starting to hear, loudly, from people that if we DON’T hear that the Pope did the necessary things then the things AREN’T ‘really necessary’ and that points to a change in the way a dogmatic teaching is acted upon (even if it isn’t ‘written down’), then it is not people carping and picking, but people trying to keep bad situations from developing.

If I’m at a hospital and I see a doctor suddenly run up to a couple, ask them if they’d like to be vaccinated, they appear to say yes (and I’m told, since I was too far away to hear them, that they DID say yes, but only ‘yes’ by somebody close by), and I see the doctor pull out a needle and jab the couple, first one, and then the other, and then go off. . .
Well yes I would want to know that the doctor had asked the couple about their vaccination history, about any potential allergies or any potential medical conditions they had. I’d want to know that the needle he used was sterile and the field was sterile, and that he had changed needle/tips between injections, and that he had washed his hands before, in between patients, and after, and that the couple was aware of the potential side effects to the medications, etc.

Because otherwise we’re going to start hearing from people who don’t want to wait in clinics or the Urgent Care, who don’t want to listen about precautions or followup, who just want the quick ‘needle in and out’ because it’s less trouble (they think) for them; and we’re going to hear from other doctors who don’t want to have to fool around with paperwork and all the legalese and just want to be out in the world ‘helping people’ without all the boring safety requirements.

The action that at first looks like something that’s easier, faster, more ‘meeting people where they are’, above all more spontaneous and free and contrasted with the 'slow, plodding, excessively rigid, legalistic actions may seem straightforward and the people who question them considered cranks and pills. . .but are they really?
 
Pianistclare I know there are some who just sit back and wait for opportunities to find fault with Pope Francis. And that is sad and hurtful. But in all charity, the Holy Father should perhaps think of the ramifications of his actions on the Faithful. I do not wish to “pick apart” His actions, but I do wish He was a bit more reserved and thoughtful as to how His actions will be presented, discussed and dissected both inside and outside the Church.
 
This airplane marriage is old news by now, but what I like about Edward Peters’ treatment of it HERE is his attention to detail, both canonical and sacramental.
 
ELROD said:
I am questioning what kind of message the Pope is sending to the faithful, and the unfaithful for that matter. It seems like what he did is a dreadful attention seeking publicity stunt. Why would he do this?
Click to expand...
I honestly have no idea why anyone would take issue with this ceremony. A large part of the charm of Pope Francis how he acts with Christ-like spontaneity. “Hey, Zacchaeus, I’m eating at your house tonight.” “Hey Peter, I’m getting in your boat. Lets go out in deep water.” “Hey Samaritan lady, can I have a drink?”

Pope Francis makes the Gospel joyful. That’s why people love him. The over scrupulous types make it a burden. The Pharisees were just trying to please God too.
 
pianistclare said:
Only if people keep picking apart his actions.
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He represents the Church and all that it teaches.

I have a daughter that is upset with the Catholic Church because she cannot be married at our family parish (long story). She may never come back and this will not help.

The pope is not just another guy on the street. His actions and words carry some import.
 
Let’s get a few things straight here:
  1. The Pope has universal jurisdiction, and therefore no rite presided by the Pope can be void for lack of form. Any Catholic couple who are free to marry can be married before their bishop or the Pope, without regard to the rights of their parish priest(s).
  2. This couple was living in sin for years. It is of paramount importance that this cohabiting couple marry without delay, given their resolve to do so eventually.
I understand the danger of scandal, but the danger of scandal in administering a sacrament cannot supersede the duty to bring lost sheep back into the fold. It is not necessary that a cohabiting couple cease having sexual relations in order to marry. There is nothing at all wrong with a couple going straight from Confession to the Rite of Matrimony, even, especially, at the suggestion of the Pope through casual conversation. Indeed, if time does not permit hearing their Confessions, it is sufficient for them both to make an Act of Perfect Contrition, and resolve to go to Confession at their next opportunity. Let us not be as the Pharisees, who bound up heavy burdens for others, but did not lift a finger to help them carry them. The mission of the Church is the salvation of souls, and canon law exists to further that end. It is for this very reason that, in danger of death, any priest can hear a Confession without regard to any ecclesiastical sanction on priest or penitent. If the Pope had not gone through with the Rite of Matrimony, would that couple have ever bothered to get married and be reconciled to Christ and the Church?
 
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